So general CSM tactica is a very broad topic that I'd like to use as a starting point for my tactic articles. CSM's aren't known for their codex diversity, however, and generally speaking there is only a few competitive choices/lists that seem to be the streamline method of running these guys.
I'll be going over a very brief synapses of what I believe to be the best choice in each category, further detail will be provided in individual unit breakdown tacticas.
HQ -
Daemon Prince seems to definetly be the best option here, they are cheap, very fast with wings (a must have upgrade, not even an option!), durable, great damage and can provide some of the best utility if built properly.
The only two ways I build this guys is Warptime/Mark of Nurgle or Mark of Slaanesh/Lash of Submission.
Warptime/Mark of Nurgle is going to provide a more durable and offensive "in your face" build thats going to allow the DP to provide great support in an offensive capacity. If your plague marines get tied up in CC and they need to be bailed out, your DP can get into combat and lay down 5 wounds very easily be re-rolling to-hit and wounds. He also attacks at a high initiative and will often destroy many enemy models before they get a chance to strike back potentially saving a unit from many deaths. The extra toughness will help keep away mass bolter fire, but he can still be very vulnerable to heavy weapons. With this build I like to keep my DP inbetween my back firing line of oblits and my front line of rhinos/troops/plagues. I try to keep him out of LOS behind buildings or in cover behind a rhino and being in the middle of my two lines lets him support either one equally well.
Mark of Slaanesh/Lash Daemon Princes have great utility while sacrifing a little killyness and toughness, they are also 20 points cheaper which can make a big difference, especially if running 2.
It should also be mentioned that lash princes are very competitive and are not recommended for friendly games. The game can become very fustrating when you make good tactical descisions, only to have your unit pulled out of cover and obliterated by a plasma cannon or a unit pulled off an objective on the last turn to lose you the game. So basically, running lash princes will piss off your friends!
Lash of Submission is truly a unique and very powerful tool in your arsenal allowing you the ability to hug units together for blasts, pull units from cover or off objectives and push those pesky and slow TH/SS terminators away so you can continue to pelt them with shots. The utility of this power is vast, but it must be used wisely. Typically you want to avoid rushing your DP out there lashing everything in sight, especially in the early first two turns, if you over-expose him early he will get blown off the board before he comes to fruition. Wait for great opportunities, be wise with you movement and placement/cover and be patient, your opponents will over commit to get in range to shoot him and may make mistakes, let them do this!!
Other HQ Options just don't compare to the all-powerful Daemon Prince. He is a unique entry in our codex being the only monstrous creature and can fill a roll that no other HQ can fill. He can pop tanks, kill stuff and has great utility/support.
Elites:
My favored choice for the elite slot is the typical 3x Terminators with 3x Combi-meltas, known as the termicide unit. Deep strike them behind enemy lines to pop tanks, just make sure you get them within 6" or you won't get the extra d6 armor pen. I usually put them a little closer to my target, it gives a hgiher chance of a mishap, but for only 105 points it's worth the risk to get within 6" for that 2d6 pen.
I usually invest very little in the elite slot, leaving the majority of my points in HQ, Troops and Heavy Support, even with my 'Ard Boyz 2500 point list I only had 210 pnts in Elites (less than 10%).
Troops:
Troop choices for me comes down to Khorne Beserkers of Plague Marines. We have a defensive shooty option and an aggressive assaulty option.
For Plague Marines I like to run a champion with a powerfist, 2 plasma guns and a rhino. Powerfist works great on plague marines because if they get locked into combat, they have good survivability and the powerfist can really make the difference between winning or losing. Many people run meltaguns over the plasma, but I cannot stress enough how amazing the plasma gun is. You get the option for 2 shots at 12" range, and you max out at 24" range for 1 shot. With the melta gun you can only do 1 shot at 12" range. Plasma guns excel at taking out troops, even those Pesky TH/SS Termies and can even take out transports and light vehicles fairly reliably. In my last game, 1 unit of plagues took out a dreadnought, a rhino and a landspeeder over the course of the game.
With Khorne Beserkers I run champion w/ Powerfist and a rhino w/ Extra Armor. Pretty straight forward tactics here, pop out and lay down some damage. I generally don't run these guys, but they are a great assault unit.
Heavy Support:
Obliterators are the only thing I run in this slot. I usually try to deploy all my oblits in tall buildings first then assorted cover second. I fire away with lascannons to pop vehicles and plasma cannons for troops. If anything gets close I switch to other weapons when needed. I never deepstrike them, you want these guys blasting away every turn from turn 1 and they are too expensive to risk a deepstrike misshap.
Fast Attack:
I personally skip this section, but I can see the value in melta bike squads. Fairly straight forward tactic, generally want to use their speed to flank on the outside and get the melta shots on some vehicles.
So I run a shooty/defensive army that focuses on taking out targets 1 by 1 and securing objectives. I apply pressure with my oblits and try to force my opponent into making mistakes. I slowly advance my front line (Plague marines in Rhinos) toward objectives and keep my daemon princes behind my plague marines to support them. I also try to keep the daemon princes close enough to oblits to be able to save them from any outflankers or deepstrikes that try to hit it from behind.
For target priority, I generally try to go for large vehicle threats first, anything that can put forth lots of high str long range shots. Second priority would be transports followed by low ap/high str shot units. That being said, this is usually all negated by the rule of "Shoot what you can see". More important than following priority is focus firing and destroying what you shoot at. In many occasions though, it can be just as good to stun/shake many different vehicles in a turn to give you that much needed respite from return fire. If a game is kill points and its coming down the turn 5, I generally try to prioritize targets I know I can kill, and avoid squads with large numbers that I think will survive. It is also important to focus units that are on objectives, contesting your objectives or units that have the potential to get to objectives.
One of the keys to victory, I've found, is smart movement/placement. I've won countless games by deploying in an advantageous way, keeping my units in cover, out/in LOS when needed and making smart moves. I've also made many bad moves that have caused problems for me. Before you move a unit, make sure you have the LOS you will need, ensure you will have good cover if needed, make sure your not putting them in assault range unless you are baiting. Always be aware of where you opponent can move/shoot/assault, knowing their limitations will allow you to make smarter decisions and severly hamper their ability lay down the pain.
Thats all for today, stay tuned for more focused tactica to come on individual units and focused strategies to bring your opponent to their knees. :)
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